On June 4, 1977, John Henry Lee, an 80-year-old white male residing in Robeson County, North Carolina, experienced severe stomach and chest pains accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea. Despite medical attention, his condition rapidly deteriorated, leading to his death shortly thereafter. At the time, his symptoms were attributed to a severe stomach virus, and no foul play was suspected.
In the months leading up to his death, John Henry Lee and his 76-year-old wife, Record Lee, had
employed Velma Barfield, a 45-year-old white female, as a live-in caretaker. Barfield had been assisting the couple, particularly after Record suffered a broken leg. Unbeknownst to the Lees, Barfield had a history of financial misconduct and had previously served time for writing bad checks.
Following the death of her boyfriend, Stuart Taylor, in early 1978 under similar mysterious circumstances, an investigation was launched. Barfield was arrested in May 1978 and subsequently confessed to poisoning several individuals under her care, including John Henry Lee. She admitted to administering arsenic-based poison to Lee to prevent him from discovering that she had forged one of his checks for $50. Barfield's confession led to her conviction for multiple murders, and she was executed on November 2, 1984, becoming the first woman in the United States to be executed by lethal injection.
